Wind and Water
by Alex-2598
Summary: Percy Jackson gave his life so his friends, Thalia, Luke and Annabeth, could make it to Camp Half-Blood. As he lay there, staring down Death itself, his father, Poseidon, took pity on him and turned him into a tree, which now protects the camp's borders. That's the story Thalia told everyone. Then came the day her world turned upside down. Percy Jackson was alive. Percy/Thalia
1. Chapter 1

New campers always asked about the tree. And for some reason, Thalia always insisted she be the one to tell the story. For those few minutes, she could be by his side again, before the story inevitably ended, and she had to relive that dreadful night. The night she lost Percy Jackson. Those final moments still haunted her nightmares, never letting her get over her guilt. Sometimes, she could move on for a little while, when she threw herself into her training, when she spent time with Luke and Annabeth. Then someone would ask about the tree, and all the old memories would come flooding back. When it was just the four of them, on the run, learning to survive on their own, building a bond that would last a lifetime.

She would start at the beginning, the first time she met Percy. She and Luke had just picked up Annabeth about a week ago, and now they were in some desolate, darkened corner of a city, moving with the shadows, doing whatever they could to avoid _them_. Luke took point with his sword, he was the oldest, at 12 years old, and he'd been doing this the longest. Thalia was opposite his side, clutching a spear, she was 10, and could handle herself in a fight. And right in between them was Annabeth, only 7, wielding the bronze dagger Luke had given her. Thalia and Luke still had to protect her, but she was learning fast.

Luke had heard the noise first, someone or something was approaching. A moment later, there he stood, in the entrance of a shadowy alley, a boy who looked about Thalia's age, with messy raven black hair and sea-green eyes. He'd tried to look resolute, but Thalia could tell by the shaking hands that held the rusty knife and the desperate look in his eyes that he was truly terrified. At first she thought, maybe he was just a homeless kid stealing to survive. Then he'd started rambling about monsters, and while most would have dismissed this, Thalia knew better, because she'd seen them, Luke and Annabeth had seen them. And if the monsters were coming after him too, he might not last the night, let alone any longer. Thalia has been the one to ask his name.

"Percy," the boy replied shakily.

Then she'd been the one to invite him to join their group. Luke was hesitant at first, he wasn't sure adding another to the group was a good idea. Percy had been hesistant too. But finally, with some help from Annabeth, who Luke could not say no to (and apparently neither could Percy), he became the fourth member of the team that night.

She would then recount some of their adventures together over the next few months. For starters, Percy needed a better weapon, and really they were all due for an upgrade, so at some point they'd raided a museum of ancient warfare and made out with a small cache of bronze weapons (Luke had always told Thalia and Annabeth that these were the most effective against the monsters for some reason). Luke got a traditional long sword, Thalia traded her old spear for a more powerful looking one, and also found a bow and arrows. Percy couldn't seem to find a sword that fit his fighting style, but finally settled on an ordinary short sword. Annabeth, for her part, was perfectly content with the dagger Luke had given her.

There was no time to train, they fought on instinct alone, learning each other's strengths and weaknesses, learning to depend on each other to stay alive. Thalia noticed that Percy, while incredibly raw obviously, did seem to have a bit of a natural talent for sword fighting. Clearly he was an asset to the team, despite her initial doubts about his skinny, undersized frame.

He was an even greater asset on the rare occasions they weren't fighting for their lives. He would talk history with Annabeth, mostly Greek and Roman mythology, whixh usually ended with Annabeth laughing and calling him a big dummy. He even got Luke to come around eventually, the sarcasm, wit, and lame puns were infectious. Then there was Thalía. She liked to think that of all of them, she had been the closest to Percy. Sure they argued a lot, but they always made up quickly. They were the same age, and shared many other similar traits and interests. And when Thalia was in trouble, she knew she could count on Percy to have her back, and vice versa.

Percy didn't talk about his life before they'd found him on the streets very often. The most he would say was that it hadn't been pleasant; he'd never known his real father, his step-father had been awful, and he was always getting in trouble at school. Thalia sympathized with him, and did Luke and Annabeth. They'd all been through similar childhoods. That's was just one more thing that brought them closer together.

Then came the day everything changed. They'd just gotten up that morning, and were preparing to move on from their latest hideout, when they heard a noise coming from outside. Cautiously, with their weapons ready, they leapt out, prepared for a fight. Instead what they saw was one terrified kid who looked about the same age as Thalia and Percy. He looked normal at first, until Thalia looked down and realized his feet were actually goat hooves. The boy said his name was Grover, and that he was a satyr, which surprised them, but after running from and fighting monsters for months, it wasn't so hard to believe anymore. Grover said they needed to follow him, that there was a camp in Long Island where kids like them would be safe.

"What do you mean, kids like us?" Percy had asked.

"I mean- look, I can't say it, it's dangerous. The more you know, the stronger your scent becomes. The point is you'll be safe there." Grover fumbled.

"We're doing just fine on our own," Luke had countered.

But finally Percy did manage to convince him, they couldn't last forever out here, and Grover seemed to know what he was talking about.

Now they had a goal, and Grover had them moving at a frantic pace. Unfortunately, his earlier fears seemed to have been confirmed, for now there were more monsters, and more powerful ones at that. There was less time for breaks, less time for everything. They got sidetracked again and again, and there was no more room for error.

No matter how many times Thalia told the story, it always had the same ending. She always had to relive that night. They'd caught a bus to Long Island, Grover had assured them they would make it in time. Then he'd noticed the three old ladies sitting in the back.

"Oh no, it can't be." he'd whispered to himself. "Anything but them."

Thalia had heard. "What is it?"

"We need to get off this bus, right now," he answered quickly.

Luke had rushed to the front and pulled the emergency brake, which caused the bus to careen out of control and flip over. Somehow they managed to crawl out of there alive, but now they had no ride, they would have to finish the journey on foot.

The sun had long since faded over the horizon, and as they approached the hill, even Grover's assurances couldn't conceal the fact that the monsters were gaining, and gaining fast. About a quarter of the way up, Thalia made a mistake that should have cost her her life. She looked back, and at that very moment, her foot snagged on something, and she fell hard to the ground. She raised her spear, determined to destroy as many as she could before they killed her.

Then Percy was in front of her, whirling and slashing, and there was Luke, expertly dicing up everything within range. And even Annabeth was hacking and stabbing, using her small size to her advantage. They'd all risked certain death to come back for her.

For a second, it seemed liked they were pushing back the tide, then Grover's scream had brought them back to reality. More monsters were coming. Hellhounds, dracanae, the old ladies, who now wielded vicious looking black whips. They started running again, the monsters now right on their heels.

About halfway up, Percy had pulled up alongside Luke and Grover and had a quick word with them. Thalia couldn't make it out over the screeching and howling behind her. Thalia analyzed the situation, she was the closest to the monsters, everyone else was ahead of her, closer to the top of the hill. If she could hold them off for a few seconds, they would make it. True, she would die, but at least she would know her friends were safe.

Then Percy was alongside her again. She'd told him her plan, he just shook his head.

"That's a no-go, Thal, there's only room for one on dramatic sacrifice this team, and I've already volunteered."

"Don't be an idiot!" She'd screamed at him. What she really wanted to say was "Don't you dare leave me."

He'd smiled that witty smile of his. "It's what I'm best at, right?"

Then Luke's arms were around her, pulling her away. She flailed and kicked and screamed, but his grip was viselike. Somewhere ahead, Annabeth was screaming too. Percy turned back to face the horde. He'd made a lot of improvement in his fighting style, but even he couldn't hold them off forever.

They'd reached the top of the hill, Annabeth and Grover were behind them and presumably inside the camp. Thalia watched Percy, mesmerized. Even in her dreams, these final momemts would always seem to play in slow motion. He cut one of the old ladies in half, then another struck his leg with her whip, causing him to lose his balance and fall. A hellhound tried to pounce on him, he slashed it to dust and rolled away...where even more monsters were waiting. He blocked a whip, and his sword went flying out of his hands. This was it.

Then came the moment Thalia would never forget. She'd finally managed to break free from Luke, and started to run back towards Percy, when it happened. A large, glowing blue trident suddenly materialized over his body. Then a great wave of water from seemingly thin air crashed down on top of him and the horde of monsters. And where just seconds ago, there'd been a raging battlefield, a wounded boy, and an army of beasts, there now stood just one solitary pine tree. Thalia had cried desperately as Luke finally led her into the camp. Percy Jackson was gone.


	2. Chapter 2

_I_ _t_ should've _been me_. That was the only thought that ran through Thalia's mind for weeks. Sure she was alive, but what did it matter? The plan was for all four of them to be here, and without Percy, it was as though a part of her had died.

Grover had been distraught as he led them to a tall, wooden house, where a centaur and a chubby faced man were waiting. The centaur said his name was Chiron and the other man was Mr. D, better known as Dionysus, god of wine. The fact that Greek gods existed might've amazed them once, but with all they'd gone through and now having lost Percy, they just nodded grimly. Chiron had told them that they were, in fact, demigods. That's when Thalia brought up what she'd seen earlier. The glowing blue trident that had appeared over Percy's body. Chiron leaned in closer, like what he was saying was dangerous information, and told them. Percy's father was the god of the sea, Poseidon. Only Grover seemed to understand why this was significant. Chiron told Thalia, Luke and Annabeth he would explain more at a later time. For now, he said, they should join the other campers who were going to the campfire. Grover volunteered to show them the way.

As they walked, Thalia could make out the shadows of cabins arranged in a sort of U shape, inside the U was a large green, which had some typical camp activity things like a basketball court and archery targets. At the very center was a large fire pit, where there must've been around a hundred kids clustered around it. Some campers pointed at them and whispered to each other. The news about Percy must've already been getting around.

A group of kids were playing songs with an array of instruments, from guitars to flutes to harps and lyres. The melody was heroic, yet sad. The fire, which Thalia had been told changed colors according to the emotions of the campers, was so dark it was almost black. She could've sworn then that she'd spotted the shadowy figure of a young girl tending the fire. The girl looked up and seemed to find Thalia's eyes immediately. The warmth in her sympathetic gaze gave Thalia some comfort, but it was hardly enough to console her.

It was a few minutes after that when the three of them were claimed. None of them had noticed at first, but after a few gasps from the campers, who were all pointing at something above her, Thalia finally looked up and saw a glowing yellow lightning bolt hovering above her. Luke had a tall staff with wings sprouting from the top and two snakes entwined. Annabeth had a large, sophisticated looking owl. The surprised looks on everyone's faces, even Chiron's, was a giveaway that this was not a normal occurrence. And it was true. For one demigod to be claimed on their first night was rare enough, but for three, and all at the same time no less? Then Chiron remembered what Thalia had said earlier about the trident over Percy's head. He figured, though he didn't dare tell them because Thalia might've used her new powers to blast him to smithereens, that this was happening because of Percy's sacrifice. The other gods had probably claimed their children as a favor to Poseidon.

In any event, Thalia probably wouldn't have blasted anyone to smithereens, she was too depressed. If fact, for months, all she did was eat, sleep and train. She wouldn't talk to anyone, not even Luke and Annabeth. They reminded her too much of Percy. She lived alone in Cabin One, well, not quite alone. Her guilt shadowed her, never letting her be. At night, voices shouted at her, " _You let him die!", "How can you even live with yourself?!", "You could've saved him!"_ Andshe believed them.

For months she'd lived like this, a shell of her former self. Then one day, as she was leaving her cabin to go to the training arena, she found Luke and Annabeth standing in front of her.

"What do you two want?" Thalía asked defensively.

"We want our friend back," Annabeth replied.

"What are you talking about?"

"Annabeth is right, Thal, we've already lost Percy. We don't want to lose you too." Luke said

"You don't understand, it's my fault. It's my fault he died!"

"No, he chose to sacrifice himself for us, and that includes you. This isn't what he would want for you. Please Thal, don't let his sacrifice be in vain," Luke pleaded.

In that moment, she knew Luke was right, she needed to accept that Percy was gone and honor his sacrifice by living her life.

"I'm sorry," she said as her friends embraced her.

—

From that day on, Thalia had done her best to go back to her old self and enjoy her friends' company again. Over the next three years, they had lots of great times together. Thalia and Annabeth were there to congratulate Luke when he became head counselor of Cabin Eleven, and Annabeth even organized a little celebration for him. Luke pointed out that with her take-charge attitude, it probably wouldn't be long before she took over the Athena cabin herself. Meanwhile, they all continued to train, Thalia especially enjoyed her sparring matches with Luke. They were mostly evenly matched, Thalia with power. Luke with speed.

By now, both Thalia and Luke were seen as leaders, so when Zeus's Master Bolt turned up stolen, there was no doubt that his daughter would lead the quest to retrieve it. There was also little doubt that she would invite Luke to join her, and she did, but surprisingly, he had declined. Instead she took Annabeth and Grover. They'd returned triumphantly, having seemingly avoided a great crisis. But the satisfaction of success was destined to last no longer than the final shadows of summer.

Thalia had noticed a change in Luke ever since she'd come back from the quest. Gone was the laid back, friendly person he'd always been, now he was distant, colder. For weeks, Thalia had worried about him, but she could never figure out how to bring it up. Now that it was a free day (due to it being the last day of summer, when most campers went home), she decided now would be as good a time as any to try and figure out just what was going on.

She'd been walking over to Luke's cabin when she ran into Annabeth, who had a bag slung over her shoulder.

"Leaving me for the school year, huh?" Thalía teased.

"Yeah, I'm going to give my dad another try," Annabeth said.

"That's good, you know I'm gonna miss you, right?"

I'm gonna miss you too," Annabeth threw herself at Thalia, hugging her fiercely. Then she ran off, presumably to get picked up outside the camp borders.

Thalia kept going, she almost wished she could've asked Annabeth to come with her to talk to Luke, maybe then she wouldn't be so nervous. She'd stood at the door of the cabin for several seconds, then was about to knock when the door flew open. There he was, sandy blonde hair, blue eyes, confident smile.

"Hey Thalia, I was just on my way over to see you."

"You were?"

"Yep, I figured now that there's not so many people around, we could take a little walk in the woods, relax a bit. Plus, I've got some Cokes stashed back there," he whispered the last part as if it was some kind of top secret information. Thalia laughed, maybe she'd overreacted after all.

So so they went off together, walking past the cabins into the cool shade of the woods. Like Luke said, it was mostly vacant, some dryads giggled as they scurried by. The occasional satyr wandered past, playing their last summer songs to nature. At last they stopped at a small clearing where no one else was around. Luke sat on the soft grass and reached under a piece of shrubbery, coming out with a box of Cokes. He opened it and took two out, tossing one to Thalia.

"Join me?" he asked casually. Thalia obliged and sat next to him.

"So, what exactly were you doing standing at the door to my cabin?" he took a long drink from his Coke

"Honestly, I was worried about you. You've been so distant ever since we got back from the quest, I guess I thought- well, I don't know. I just wanted to make sure you were okay." Thalía admitted.

Luke smiled. "But now you know I'm fine, right?"

"Yeah, sorry. I guess I just overreacted."

Luke took another drink. "Actually, there is something I've been wanting to talk to you about."

"What is it?"

"Oh it's nothing complicated, it's really simple actually. Yet for weeks, I couldn't figure out how to tell you. I thought about having Annabeth deliver the message, but no, she's too young, she wouldn't understand."

"Then there is something bothering you. What is it? Please just tell me," Thalia pleaded.

Luke sighed as he put his Coke down and stood up. "I'm leaving, Thalia."

"You mean until next summer?"

"No, I mean for good. I'm never coming back."

"I don't understand-"

"Yes you do, you do because you've seen everything I've seen, you've seen the cruelty of the gods."

Realization struck her. "You're working for Kronos."

"You can join me, Thal, we can bring down Olympus together. Don't you want the gods to pay for what happened to Percy?" Luke asked.

Thalia flew to her feet. "Don't you dare bring Percy's name into this! To think that after he _died_ for you, that you would- you-"

"Open your eyes Thalia! I'm doing this for him, and you, and all demigods! Our parents abandoned us, do you really think they care? Those were Hades's monsters that killed Percy. But because daddy turned him into a tree, we're just supposed to forgive and forget? The truth is, if Percy was alive, he would be on my side."

"NEVER!" Thalía screamed. Incredible power surged through her, her body crackled with electricity.

"I'm not going to fight you Thalia, but if you won't join me, the next time we meet, it'll be as enemies." Luke sounded almost sad as he said it. Thalia didn't care.

"Go away, traitor," she growled.

Luke nodded and slashed through the air with his sword, and in the next instant, Thalia was alone in the forest.


	3. Chapter 3

Thalia hadn't thought she could feel more angry or hurt after Luke's betrayal. To think that one of her best friends, a person she thought she'd known inside and out, could just walk away to the enemy's side, after Percy had given his life for Luke no less. She was certain this was her lowest point. Then one day, more bad news came: Percy's tree had been poisoned, it was dying, he was dying, again. Luke. It had to be. Thalia had barely been able to control her rage. Like he hadn't hurt her enough already, now he meant to take the last remnant of their old friend. It was Annabeth who had come up with the potential solution, the Golden Fleece. Its magical powers might be enough to save Percy's tree. Thalia needed a quest.

The Oracle delivered yet another blow to Thalia. Clarisse was to be the quest leader. It didn't seem fair, Clarisse hadn't known Percy, she was only in this for the glory. There was no way in Hades Thalia and Annabeth were leaving the fate of Percy's tree in her hands, so they decided to sneak out and go anyways.

The quest was difficult, and along the way, they had to save Grover from being married to/eaten by Polyphemus (Thalia couldn't decide which was worse), but finally they were able to recover the Fleece. Now here they were, still in the shadow of the Miami coastline, and Thalia had an agonizing decision to make. They only had enough mortal cash between them to send one person back with the Fleece, and according to the prophecy, she had a strong suspicion that person was meant to be Clarisse. So, against the protestations of every fiber of her being, she gave the magical rug to the daughter of Ares, and told her to catch a cab to the airport and take the first flight to New York.

That settled, Thalia, Annabeth and Grover were now on their own for a way to get back to camp. However, before they had time to think of any ideas, a familiar voice materialized.

"Thalia."

She turned slowly, Luke's sword, Backbiter, was aimed directly at her, the sandy blond-haired teen wore a confident smirk on his face.

"Luke."

"Long time, no see, old friend." Then he regarded the boyish looking satyr. "Grover Underwood, looking good, man." And finally Annabeth. "And little Annabeth, my how you've grown. Looks like the whole gang's here! Well, except, you know."

That last comment seemed to truly enrage Annabeth, she tried to lunge at Luke, but a couple of his minions held her back.

"I've always admired that tenacity in you," Luke said with a sympathetic edge to his voice. "Thalia, tell her to calm down. I don't want anyone to get hurt, I just want to talk."

Thalia hesitated, she really wanted to blast Luke into the sea, but she couldn't put Annabeth's life in danger. "Fine, come on, Annabeth, let's talk with our _friend_."

As they walked back down towards the shoreline, Thalia considered calling out to some of the mortals who walked past them for help. She eventually decided it would be too dangerous. Clearly the Mist had convinced them it was nothing worth getting worked up over, maybe a group of crazy cosplayers. Also, Luke's sword, Backbiter, was made of both Celestial Bronze and tempered steel, it could injure and kill a mortal just as easily as it could a monster. Thalia couldn't put an innocent person in danger.

So she had no choice but to continue walking next to Annabeth and Grover, Luke in front of them, and a group of his monsters behind blocking their escape.

"Why are you doing this, Luke?" Thalia asked, her voice a mask of anger and pain.

Luke looked back at her. "I already told you, Thal, it's time for the reign of Olympus to end. For too long, we demigods have done their bidding, gone on their ridiculous quests, shed our blood for their ends. Now I'm just tipping the scales back in our favor. I only wish Percy was here, he would've been a powerful addition to Kronos's army."

"You're deluded if you think Percy would've joined your army." Thalia spat.

"Deluded? I don't think so. You know it's not too late Thal, you and Annabeth can still join me. It'll be just like old times, only without the gods to ruin our lives."

"You ruined my life when you betrayed our friendship, you ruined my life when you poisoned Percy's tree. I'll never join you." Thalia said defiantly.

"Neither will I!" Annabeth agreed.

"Luke sighed. "The gods know I tried." He looked up to the heavens, as though daring Zeus to strike him down. Thalia wished he would, but of course that didn't happen. Instead, they kept walking until they reached a large cruise ship docked in the port. The top deck was crowded with a horde of monsters and demigods.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Luke bragged, having noticed Thalia, Annabeth, and Grover's stares. "Soon, our army will be powerful enough to storm Olympus itself, and once Lord Kronos is awakened...well, there's a couple of gods I'd like to personally see the end of, but I'll settle for letting him do the dirty work."

Thalia just seethed silently as Luke led them aboard. Thalia realized with horror that she recognized many of the demigods from camp. She'd always known Luke was charismatic, but now it hit her just how many people he'd managed to convince to fight for the wrong side. For a fleeting moment, she doubted herself. What if Luke was right, what if Percy would have wanted her and Annabeth to side with Luke and bring down the gods? No, that couldn't be true. She'd known Percy, he wasn't vengeful like that. He was kind and brave and loyal and amazing and- and she needed to stop thinking about him before she broke down here. Her friends needed her, and they all needed to find a way off this ship.

Now they were on the front deck, where seemingly most of Luke's army was assembled. He'd been walking ahead of them, now he suddenly stopped.

"You know, as much as I've enjoyed this little reunion, there is just one thing missing."

"The Fleece?" Thalia guessed.

Luke turned around. "That's right. I know you have it, and now, you're going to give it to me."

"What do you want with the Fleece anyways?" Thalia asked, trying to stall for time.

"Take a guess."

"You're going to use it to ressurect Kronos!" Annabeth said accusingly. Thalia gasped as she realized Annabeth was right. How hadn't she seen that before? Luke smiled coldly.

"You were always the smart one, Annabeth. Well? Let's see it."

A few of Luke's cronies roughly searched them. "It's not here, boss," one of the demigods said after several seconds.

"What?" Luke locked eyes with Thalia. "What did you do with it?"

"We sent it ahead, you're too late. You've lost, Luke," Thalia taunted bitterly.

"Impossible, unless- Clarisse." Realization struck him. "You actually trusted that girl with the only thing capable of- Hmph, you've only cost us time, I'll just get it myself." Then Luke ordered one of his minions to bring him a pegasus.

Thalia had only precious seconds now, she somehow needed to stall Luke. She got an idea, it was a long shot, but with his army here...it might be their best chance.

"There you go, running away again. You wouldn't fight me last summer, well here's your chance. You and me, one on one."

Luke shook his head. "Very tempting, but no, you three are staying on this ship, as my...honored guests."

"I think you're just scared. Scared because you know I'm stronger than you and always have been," Thalia challenged.

"Watch it, Thal," Luke warned.

"No, come on, prove me wrong!"

Luke hesitated. His pegasus was on deck. He could leave know and probably reach Clarisse and the Fleece before the made it back. But Thalia was counting on Luke feeling pressured to fight her by the presence of his army. And by the look in his eyes, she could tell it was working.

"This won't take long," then, in a blinding flash, he attacked with Backbiter.

Thalia blocked the strike with her shield and stabbed with her spear, but Luke simply sidestepped.

Annabeth tried to rush in to help her, but Luke's minions held her back.

Thalia parried another slash, and, adjusting her aim, launched a high thrust that would've skewered Luke's head had he not ducked under it at the last second. He stayed low with his next attack, which Thalia only just managed to block. The fight continued like this for several adrenaline-filled seconds, over a minute, in fact. Countless hours of sparring matches had borne out this stalemate. Just like in the small arena back at camp, Thalia had the advantage in power, Luke had the edge in speed. For now, the duel was more or less an even match. That was fine with Thalia, all she cared about was buying time for Clarisse, the Fleece, and Percy's tree.

Then Luke caught her off guard, he used a quick disarming technique to knock her spear away, and in the heat of the moment, with fatigue dulling her senses, she made a huge mistake, she tried to grab it out of the air. Luke sensed the opening and slammed Backbiter so forcefully on Thalia's shield that she lost her balance and crashed to the deck. She tried to raise her shield, but Luke pinned it to the deck with his foot. He grinned wickedly as he held Backbiter to within inches of her chest.

"Looks like I win, Thal."

At least she'd bought some time for Clarisse. She only regretted that Annabeth and Grover would be held prisoner here with seemingly no way out. She looked up at Luke, would he really kill her? She braced herself for the more likely answer.

That's when the Party Ponies rode to the rescue.

They'd seemingly come from nowhere. Suddenly the deck was being overrun by a small army of crazy centaurs wielding everything from boxing glove arrows to paintball guns. And leading the way was none other than Chiron. The monsters that weren't destroyed right away soon broke ranks and ran in every direction to get away. Luke barely had time to scream an order before he was whacked with a boxing glove arrow. Thalia briefly considered going after Luke, but Annabeth and Grover were more important. Their captors had been either killed or had fled, so she was able to quickly regroup with them and ride with the Party Ponies, leaving Luke's ship far behind them.

They couldn't get back to camp soon enough for Thalia's liking. She, Annabeth and Grover had each ridden a pegasus, taken willingly from Luke's army, along with Chiron back to New York after leaving the other Party Ponies behind. As they landed on the hill, the first thing Thalia saw was Percy's tree, and the Golden Fleece, never had it looked more beautiful, wrapped around it. Already the tree looked better than it had when they'd left. Thalia touched its branches softly.

"We did it, Percy. This time- this time we saved you," Then she continued on into camp before the emotions could overwhelm her.

And that should have been the end of it, but the Fates had one more twist to add, something that would change Thalia's world forever.

Day had turned to night, and for the first time in a long time, Thalia slept without nightmares. Maybe it was the strangely calming presence of a rain storm that could be heard from within the camp borders. Maybe it was the knowledge that Percy's tree was safe. She might've slept peacefully till dawn if it hadn't been for Grover's shouting and pounding on her door. She got out of bed, but Grover had already let himself in. His eyes were wild, his voice frantic.

"Thalia, it's- it's...Annabeth was there and-" he didn't have to say more. Annabeth. She was guarding the Flee e tonight, if Luke had come back...

"Come on," she said, and soon the two of them were running towards the camp border. Chiron was already galloping in that direction.

"Is it true?" Grover simply nodded. Finally they made it, Thalia had braced herself for the worst, but all she saw was Annabeth kneeling in the wet grass, tears falling from her stormy gray eyes and mixing with the rain. Percy's tree appeared to be intact, the Fleece still hung from its branches.

"He- he was just laying here," Annabeth said numbly.

That's when Thalia noticed the person lying on the ground next to Annabeth. It was a boy with raven-black hair and half-open, yet still powerful sea-green eyes. She rushed to his side, examining his features. It couldn't be. By all the gods it just couldn't be, and yet it was. Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, lay on the ground beneath her, his breathing was shallow, yet noticeable. He was alive.

"Percy," she gasped shakily.

The boy opened his eyes a little more, like he'd heard a voice he remembered. "Thalia," he whispered back. As Thalia placed her hand on his forehead, she could feel him slipping away, then he fell into unconciousness.

"He needs ambrosia and nectar." Nobody moved. "Come on!" she screamed. Finally a couple of campers rushed down to the infirmary. Chiron trotted up to them and tried to pffer comfort, but his voice sounded greatly troubled. Thalia buried her face in Percy's chest. At that moment, only one thought was replaying in her head over and over, _Please don't leave me again._


	4. Chapter 4

For days, Percy just laid there in the infirmary, unmoving. A coma, Chiron said. He had just returned to the land of the living after nearly half a decade as a pine tree after all. Quite a jarring transition, he'd pointed out. Percy was alive, Chiron assured Thalia, but she needed to have patience.

Thalia had a lot of virtues, patience wasn't one of them. She wanted Percy to wake up, she wanted to be the first person he saw, the one who showed him around camp, and she wanted to shock the living daylights out of him for leaving her. But she couldn't do any of that if he didn't wake up. For weeks she sat by his bedside, praying to all the gods, even the ones she hated. She wouldn't let anyone else visit him except Annabeth and Chiron. She just wanted to be alone with him, and she didn't want others to see how much pain she was in.

One night, like she often did, she drifted off while sitting in the chair by his bed. Then her dream began. It started as most did, on that night four years ago, Percy fighting off the horde of monsters while Luke dragged her towards camp. Like always, she broke away at the top of the hill and started to run down towards her fallen friend. And again, the wave of water came, vaporizing all the monsters and Percy...only when the water vanished, revealing the pine tree, something was different about it. For one thing, the Golden Fleece was draped over its branches. Furthermore, a glowing blue trident was floating above it. Then the shade of a boy laying next to it materialized. A boy with raven black hair and sea green eyes. With each passing second, his form became more and more solid, until he was really there, motionless, but alive, Thalia could somehow tell.

"He will awaken soon, of that you can be certain, Thalia Grace."

Thalia gasped, time itself seemed to stop. The voice was ancient, yet powerful, and it seemed to come from every direction. And that presence...she had sensed it once before, on Luke's cruise ship. Something older than the gods themselves. She wanted to shout at the voice to go away, or ask how it knew her full name, or how it knew when Percy would wake up, but the time stop seemed to be affecting her voice as well, she couldn't say anything.

"Yes," the voice said as though reading her mind. "You think you have won? All you have done is buy yourself time, even your incompetent friend Luke could see that. But mark my words little demigod, when the time comes, one of you two will assure my triumph. I leave the choice to you."

Then the presence went away and Thalia could move again. She ran to Percy's side,but vefore she got there, the dream dissolved.

Thalia jolted awake, she'd somehow gone from the chair to Percy's bed. Her face was beaded with sweat, sunlight flooded through the window. She was about to go back to the chair when she saw his eyes flutter open.

"Thalia?..." Percy groaned.

At first she thought it was just her imagination, but then he spoke again.

"Are you okay?"

Only Percy would ask if she was okay when he was the one in the infirmary. This was really happening. Thalia was so overwhelmed, she momentarily forgot about her nightmare. She threw herself at Percy and hugged him tightly.

"Oh my gods Percy...don't you ever do anything that stupid again! Do you have any idea-" she couldn't finish because the emotions were simply too much, all she could do was cry. Percy seemed surprised at first before awkwardly hugging her back. Finally Thalia let go so he could sit up

"It's great to see you again Thal, could you just um, explain what's going on?" Percy asked confusedly.

"What's the last thing you remember?"

"I was fighting the monsters off while you guys made it to camp, then...then it gets fuzzy. I had a dream I think, I was standing in a pool of water, and there was a man there, he looked familiar, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. He said something to me...I think he called me son. Then I was here. I guess the monsters didn't kill me after all."

"No, they didn't kill you," Thalia said.

"So this is camp? Nice place," Percy admitted as he looked through the window and saw the grassy field and the cabins on the horizon. "Everyone did make it, right? Annabeth, Grover and Luke?"

"Y-yeah, we all made it," Thalia didn't know how she was going to tell Percy about how much things had changed since he'd been gone.

"Great! Now you guys can show me around," Percy said excitedly as he tried to get out of bed. Thalia stopped him.

"Wait Percy, there's something I need to tell you."

"What is it?"

"That night, when you sacrificed yourself for us...you didn't die, not exactly. You were turned into a tree. That night was four years ago, Percy."

Percy turned pale as a ghost. "Four years?" he croaked.

"There's- there's something else. Luke...Luke isn't here anymore."

"Luke...died?" Percy asked.

"No. Well, in a way. But the point is he left camp." She couldn't bring herself to tell him the truth. Not yet. She didn't want to unload too much on him.

"I can't believe he would leave...he promised me he would look after you and Annabeth."

Another broken promise, another reason to be angry with him. Percy would be even angrier once he found out the true extent of Luke's betrayal. But for now, as much as Thalia wanted more time with Percy alone, she knew she needed to tell Chiron and Mr. D that he was awake. She put on a brave smile.

"We can talk more about Luke later, but for now, how about that tour?"

Percy grinned. "Better late than never I guess."

Thalia led him out of the infirmary into the morning sunlight, which bathed the camp in a pleasant glow, making it look almost like a paradise. Some campers pointed and whispered as Thalia and Percy walked by. This was the first time they'd ever seen him in the flesh, up till now, he'd always seemed more like a myth than a real person. Yet there was one other person who did recognize Percy. Her stormy gray eyes lit up when she saw him. She ran up to them, almost tackling Percy to the ground.

"Percy!" she cried.

"Is that-" Percy looked down at the girl, she'd grown up quite a bit since he'd last seen her, she was now 11. Yet the blonde hair and gray eyes were the same. "Annabeth! It's so good to see you again."

"I was just taking Percy to the Big House," Thalia explained.

"Can I come too?"

"Yeah, I have a feeling I'll need all the friends I can get."

The three of them resumed walking, now with Annabeth asking Percy a question every two seconds. Percy tried to answer them all, but Thalia could tell he was relieved when they finally made it to the Big House. She almost laughed at the bewildered look on his face, it looked so much like the look he had every time Annabeth would stump him with her endless knowledge of history and mythology. Percy was saved this time by a knock, and the door being opened by a centaur.

"Thalia, Annabeth, and ah, this must be-"

"Percy Jackson." Percy finished. Chiron nodded.

"After years of hearing Thalia tell of your bravery...well, I must say it is truly an honor to meet you."

Thalia's blushed, she wasn't sure how Percy would react to hearing that. He just looked at her and smiled.

"Can we come in, Chiron?" Thalia asked.

"Yes of course, my dear, we have a great many things to discuss." Chiron turned and led them inside.

"Yes we do," a voice boomed. A sparkly vine-green portal appeared, and a chubby faced man in a striped Hawaiian shirt stepped out.

"How was that? Quite dramatic, eh? I am also the god of theater, after all." the man boasted. Then he seemed to notice Percy. "Oh joy, at long last, Peter Johnson is awake, blah blah blah," he yawned.

"Um, who are you?" Percy asked.

"This is our activities director, Mr. D. Better known as Dionysus, god of wine, amongst other things," Chiron explained.

"Wait, god?" Percy gestured to Mr. D. "You mean to tell me this guy is a god?"

"Yes, son of Poseidon. Is there a problem with that?" Mr. D asked calmly, his eyes changed color unrik they settled on fiery purple. At this point, Thalia was ready to intervene before Percy got turned into a dolphin or something, but Percy responded before she had the chance.

"Nope, no problem. Wait, Poseidon?"

Mr. D groaned.

"He does not fully understand, Mr. D," Chiron explained. "Perhaps we should-"

Just then, the door flew open, and Grover rushed in. "I heard the rumors-" then he saw the person he was looking for. "Perrrcy!" he cried as he hugged the raven-haired boy.

"Grover?"

"You're alive, you're really alive, I didn't believe it at first but- look, I'm so sorry about before-"

"Grover it's fine, it wasn't your fault, I promise. Anyways, um, your director was just calling me a son of Poseidon."

Mr. D sighed. "I really do not have the time one the patience for a new camper today. Mr. Underwood!" he called dramatically, even though Grover was only five feet away. "Please show Perry Johansson the orientation film."

"It's Percy Jackson-" Percy started, before Thalia stopped him. She really wanted to zap Mr. D for that, this was not just any new camper! she thought angrily. But she kept her mouth shut, and fortunately so did Percy. She decided she should probably get herself and Annabeth out of there before someone said something stupid. She locked eyes with Percy for a moment, maybe a little too long.

"I'll be fine, you guys go on," he assured them.

"Okay, but you owe us a cheeseburger," Thalia smiled as she led Annabeth out of the Big House. Meanwhile, Grover put his arm around Percy's shoulder and started leading him to another room.

"You're gonna love the orientation film, man. They haven't updated it in like 20 years. We can laugh at it together." He stopped as he noticed Mr. D having materialized our of nowhere, glaring at him. "Um, I mean, education! And fun facts, so many fun facts..."

Percy laughed. It sure was good to be alive again. These next few months would be interesting, that much everyone knew.

The rest of the summer practically flew by. Now that Percy was back, he needed to be caught up on several things. First, they did have to tell him about Luke's betrayal, which he handled well, all things considered (only a brief rage-filled earthquake). He was eager to start training again, so he could help stop Luke and Kronos. For that, he needed another weapon. Thalia took him to the armory. He tried just about every sword there, but they all felt off somehow. Then Percy noticed a faint bronze glow in the back of the room.

He reached through the cobwebs, rusted swords, and neglected magic items until his fingers finally curled around a small bronze pen. On the side, engraved Greek letters spelled out Anaklusmos, Riptide. He sighed, that was a letdown. Then he got a silly idea. What if he uncapped the pen? He did so, and it immediately sprang into a three-foot long bronze sword. Percy tested it. It felt perfectly balanced. This was the one.

That settled, it was time for him to get to training. He was rusty after four years as a tree (and who wouldn't be?), and for the first few weeks, Thalia had to watch over him to make sure Clarisse and the other Ares kids didn't kill him. By the end of the summer though, Percy could hold his own, and he even managed to disarm Clarisse, much to Thalia's delight.

Chiron had observed a few things about Percy since he'd come back to life, which he shared with Thalia and Annabeth. Firstly, the pine tree that he had formerly been still stood where it always had, and it continued to strengthen the camp's magic borders. Secondly, Percy had aged more slowly whilst in tree form, meaning he was was now 13 turning 14 this August, while Thalia was 14 turning 15 this December.

When autumn came, it was a relief to them. Many campers went home for the school year, including Annabeth, who Percy and Thalia were there to see off. Now Thalia and Percy had a little more time to get reacquainted. It still felt so surreal, she thought, to have him back. She was afraid that four years as a tree might have changed him somehow, but he still seemed to be the same sarcastic, witty, sometimes clueless, often unintentionally amazing person she'd once known. How long that would last was up to the Fates. The world of gods and monsters and constant war and loss changed people. It had certainly changed her in some ways. All she knew is she wanted to cherish every moment she got with Percy from now on.

Things went about as well as they could for the next few months. Percy and Thalia met with Annabeth for cheeseburgers for Percy's birthday in August. September, October and November all passed without incident. Then in December, just a couple of weeks from Thalia's birthday, a camper knocked on her door. Chiron had sent for her, an Iris-Message from Grover. She rushed over to the Big House. The misty image showed Grover standing in the middle of what looked like an enchanted snow forest.

"Grover, where are you?" Thalia asked.

"I'm in Maine, but that's not why I called. I um," he looked back, as if making sure no one was eavesdropping. "I've got a bit of an emergency here, I really need your help, maybe Annabeth too."

"An emergency? What are you-"

"I can come too, right?"

Thalia turned around at the sound of the new voice. She found Percy walking up to her, pen in hand.

"Great idea, Perce, of course you can come, man," Grover said gratefully. "Listen, I've gotta go, bad connection. Just be here as soon as possible, okay?"

"Wait, Percy's only been back a few months, he still needs to-" then the IM cut off. Thalia glared at Percy, who just shrugged sheepishly.

"Awe come on, Thal, it'll be like old times."

Thalia sighed. "You're just going to follow us anyways, even if I say no, aren't you?"

Percy grinned. "Yeah, pretty much."

While she'd never admit it, Thalia was glad Percy insisted on going. She felt safer with him by her side. "You'd better not die on me this time, Seaweed Brain."


	5. Chapter 5

Dancing with Percy at a middle school winter dance was not what Thalia had envisioned when Grover Iris Messaged her to say he needed her help with an emergency up in Maine. As soon as the message ended, Percy and Thalia packed up and prepared to leave the following day. The next morning, they left the camp borders, where they found the ride Chiron had arranged for them, a car driven by a former camper. Thalia directed them to Annabeth's place, where they picked her up. Then it was time for the long drive north to Maine.

The drive had been spent mostly in silence. Annabeth was poring through a brochure she'd picked up along the way about the place they were going, a military school called Westover Hall. Occasionally, she would spout some facts about its history, or architectural design. She sat in the middle, Percy to her left by one window, Thalia to her right by the other. It was just as well, Thalia thought to herself. It was still so surreal to have Percy back. She felt an irrational desire to reach out and touch him, just to make sure he was really there. Percy would've found that weird.

Thalia had spent most of the trip thinking. About the mission, about Percy. Ahe hadn't wanted him to go at first, but now she was glad he'd insisted. If this emergency was as bad as Grover had made it sound, there was no one else she'd rather have by her side. Even so, she worried about him. He was still getting used tl doing things the Camp Half-Blood way rather than back when they were on their own. He'd always had a rebellious side, and Thalia worried that he would do something stupid and put his life in danger. She made a mental note to not let Percy out of her sight.

Finally they'd pulled up to the place, which despite having already heard Annabeth's description earlier, still managed to give Thalia chills. With its stony walls, spiraling towrrs topped with flags, slit windows, and massive wooden double doors, Westover Hall looked less like a school and more like a Disney villain's lair. And it sure didn't look like Prince Charming was about to ride in on his perfect white steed and save the day. _Fine by me_ , Thalia thought. _We don't need him._

The icy wind nipped at their exposed skin as they approached the doors. It took all three of them to shove them open. Once inside, they found themselves in a cavernous room whose walls were decorated with all kinds of wicked looking medieval weaponry. Thalia thought she saw a fully armored knight holding a huge battle axe. But then she realized it was just the armor, and there was no one inside. Not that it made it any less creepy. From the ceiling, a large banner greeted them. _Westover Hall's Winter Dance_ , it said.

Unfortunately, it hadn't taken long for them to get caught by two teachers, a man and a woman. They both had gray hair and wore stiff military style uniforms. The man 's name was Dr. Thorn, he had mismatched eyes, one blue and one brown, and he spoke in a thick French accent. The woman's name was Mrs. Gottschalk, which, judging by the barely contained expression on his face, Percy seemed to find hilarious. Thorn was threatening to kick them out, Thalia had to think of something fast. Suddenly she remembered something Chiron had once taught her. She'd never tried it before, but it was now or never.

She stepped forward and snapped her fingers, imagining the Mist bending to her will. She felt a invisible ripple going outwards, washing over the teachers. She spoke with conviction, and it seemed to work, as the teachers bought her story that they were all students at the academy. Once that was done, they were sent on their way.

While walking down a hallway, they had run into Grover, who looked incredibly relieved to see them.

"So, what's the emergency?" Percy asked.

Grover looked over his shoulder nervously. Then gestured for the others to follow him. "I found two."

"Two half-bloods?" Thalia asked incredulously. Finding demigods was rare enough, finding more than one in the same place was almost unheard of.

Grover nodded. "A girl and a boy, twelve and ten years old. They're siblings. I don't know their parentage, but they're powerful. I can sense that much, and so can he."

"He? A monster?" Thalia asked.

Grover nodded again. "He's the only one...but he's powerful too, and smart. I can't get anywhere near them, he's always blocking me and watching them. He suspects, and with today being the I-I don't know what to do."

Thalia could sense the desperation in his voice. This was a critical operation. The survival of Camp Half-Blood could depend upon it. Kronos's army was growing by the day, and the camp was losing demigods at an alarming rate. For the sake of all their fellow campers, they simply had to succeed.

Thalia assured Grover that they would find a way, and though he still looked uncomfortable, he regained his composure enough to guide them to the gym. He also told them the identity of the monster, it was none other than Dr. Thorn. That didn't surprise Thalia, she'd gotten a creepy vibe from him right away. Then they entered the gym, ready for anything...except, perhaps, a middle school dance.

The students were spread out all over the gym. Some were dancing, but most were either clustered in small groups or fooling around with the balloons or something.

"There they are." Thalia followed Grover's eyes to the bleachers on the opposite wall. Two kids sat there alone. One was a girl wearing a floppy green cap. She was arguing with a slightly younger looking boy, who was fiddling with what looked like trading cards. They both had olive skin and silky black hair. "Nico and Bianca di Angelo."

"Great. Let's get them and get out of here," Percy stepped forward. Thalia put her arm out to stop him. He followed her gaze and saw what she had already noticed. Thorn. He stood just feet away, watching them like a hawk. They would have to get in close without alerting the monster. In other words, they would have to dance.

That's how Annabeth and Grover ended up shuffling awkwardly together, Grover stepping on Annabeth's feet more often than he did the floor. Meanwhile, Percy and Thalia just stood there for a few seconds, staring at each other.

"Guess we should start dancing, huh?" Percy noted.

"Probably," Thalia confirmed.

Percy put his hands up. "Hey, don't look at me, I was a tree for four years, remember?"

Thalia laughed, he had a point there. "Just follow my lead, Seaweed Brain."

She placed his hand on her waist and guided them through a very basic dance. She tried not to look at Percy too much, to avoid getting lost in his sea-green eyes. Now was definitely not the time. She had no idea why she only got nervous like this around Percy. Well...Maybe she did have an idea. But again, not the time.

"Are you sure we can't just go and get them? I mean, if Grover's right that they're powerful, and they're in danger, the sooner, the better, right?" Percy protested. Thalia sighed. She'd promised herself that she would keep him under control, and she could already tell it wasn't going to be easy.

"It's not that simple, Percy. We just have to be patient." Thalia recognized the hypocrisy of her of all people telling someone to be patient. But Percy might've been one of the few people more impatient than herself.

Percy frowned. "But if there's four of us, and only one of him-"

"No. Please, just this once, listen to me," Thalia pleaded.

"Okay, okay," Percy relented. "So you're saying you don't trust my judgement?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying," Thalia replied with a straight face.

"Thanks," Percy pouted. Thalia tried to hold her serious expression, but finally a huge grin broke through. Percy glanced at her.

"What?" He protested.

"Oh nothing. I just missed having you around."

"Yeah?"

"Yep. No one to argue with, or beat every time in training, and of course, the bad jokes-"

"I get the idea," Percy complained. But then he broke into a smile of his own. "I missed you too, Thal-"

Suddenly he froze. His eyes seemed fixated on something behind Thalia. "They're gone."

"What?"

"The di Angelos, look," Thalia turned to look at the bleachers, sure enough, the kids that had been sitting there just minutes ago were nowhere to be seen. Percy quickly scanned the room. Then his gaze locked in on something. "There!" He pointed to a door at the far end of the gym. Thalia caught a glimpse of Thorn dragging the kids through the door and leaving it open behind him.

"Let's get the others," Thalia said. Percy shook his head.

"There's no time, we can handle this." Then Percy took out his own and dashed across the gym.

"Wait, Percy!" Thalia cried, and she tried to follow, but she got caught up in a small crowd that had decided this particular moment was a good time to make a run at the punch bowl. Thalia growled as she pushed people aside, then somewhere along the way, she got tripped up and fell hard on the linoleum floor.

That's when she noticed Grover and Annabeth running towards her and calling her name. Grover extended his hand and helped her up. "Thorn's gone!" he gasped breathlessly.

"He's got the di Angelos, Percy went after him," Thalia explained.

"Alone?!"

"Let's go help him!" Annabeth said. The determination in her voice invigorated Thalia. They could still catch up with him and salvage this mission.

"He went that way," Thalia pointed to the opened doorway.

The door led into a dimly lit hallway that was lined with lockers. There was no sign of Percy, Thorn, or the di Angelos. Thalia felt through her pocket until her fingers curled around the small canister of mace she always carried. As she took it out, she willed it to change, and a moment later, she was holding a full length bronze spear. Then she touched her silver bracelet and activated her shield, Aegis. Annabeth held her bronze dagger, Grover fiddled with his pipes nervously. None of them knew what might await them on the other side of this next door. Thalia silently counted to three before throwing it open. The three of them leapt out, ready for battle, only to find themselves bsck in the entry hall, alone.

"Where could they be?" Annabeth asked.

Thalia didn't answer. She scanned the room in front of her intensely. Nothing seemed out of place. Maybe Perry's blade had frightened the monster off, or maybe he'd actually managed to defeat it. But then where was he? It wouldn't make sense for him to just leave eithout telling anyone. Thalia tried not to dwell on a darker alternative, that Percy might not have survived the encounter at all. But her worries were not soothed by what Grover said next.

"Hey guys, bad news. I think Percy's in trouble."

Thalia whirled around. "How can you be sure?" Then she saw what Grover was pointing at. On the wall behind them, right next to the door they'd come out of, two long, black spiky projectiles were embedded in the wood. One had a piece of fabric pinned tl the wall. Thalia was sure she recognized it as part of the shirt Percy had been wearing. The mission had just taken on a whole new level of urgency for Thalia. Now not only the di Angelos, but Percy was in danger. And she would not lose him again.

"Can you track them?" She asked Grover.

"I may not have to, come on," the satyr replied as he gestured for the others to help him push open the wooden double doors that would lead them back outside into the frigid night. As they descended the stony steps and turned towards the forest, Grover found what he'd been looking for. A cluster of footprints walking a straight line into the woods. "We won't have long before the fresh snow covers up these tracks," Grover warned. "Let's get going."

Thalia was quiet the entire time. She was holding Annabeth's hand to comfort the 12 year old, although really it more for her own comfort. They navigated the trail, guided by the dim light of street lamps, which the grey-white snow flurries did their best to cloud. Thalia had to almost shut her mind off and go into auto-pilot. She had to pretend somehow, someway, that this was just another rescue operation, that it was someone she didn't know whose life depended upon her, and not her oldest and closest friend. It worked. Her training kicked in. Holding her spear steady with both hands, she led her friends as they followed the trail until at last they arrived at the edge of the forest, with a large clearing ahead. And there they were.

Thorn had them cornered...was that a cliff behind them? Percy stood in front of the di Angels, wincing in pain. That monster had hurt him. Anger surged through Thalia. She was ready to sprint across the field and turn Thorn into a pile of dust, but Annabeth held her back.

"Wait Thalia. He'll sense us way before we reach him. We need the element of surprise."

"But how?"

Annabeth told Thalia and Grover her plan, then she put on her magic Yankees cap, which turned her invisible, and crept up on Thorn and the others. Meanwhile, Thalia and Grover stayed crouched by the edge of the forest, waiting for the right moment.

Suddenly, Percy and the di Angelos crashed to the ground like pins knocked over by an invisible bowling ball. That was the signal. Thalia took off, spear and shield in position. _You hurt my friend. You tried to kill him. You'll pay for that._

"For Zeus!" She cried as she closed on Thorn and launched a massive thrust to the monster's head. Unfortunately, he managed to swat it aside. Then he went on the attack, slashing at Thalia's shield, only when his hand arrived, it had changed into a ferocious orange paw with razor sharp claws. Thalia absorbed the impact and used the momentum to roll backwards, landing in a crouch. Before she could strike back however, Thorn snarled and unleashed a volley of the spiky projectiles she'd seen earlier. Thalia leaned in close to Aegis as the projectiles hit. In the next moment, she was flying backwards, then landing on the frozen ground. She groaned as she tried to recalibrate her senses. Thalia was unharmed. But for now, she was powerless to help her friends.

Thalia could still hear the sounds of battle raging across the field. Grover playing his pipes frantically, Annabeth yelling and trying to rally the others. As Thalia slowly picked herself up, still trying to catch her breath, she saw Percy stagger from a volley of projectiles that badly damaged his shield. One more hit and it might be over. Annabeth and the di Angelos were lying on their stomachs in the snow. Grover was dazed and on the ground near them. Thorn made a gutteral sound that vaguely resembled a laugh. He had changed into his true form, and it was one of the most infamous of monsters. The head of a man, the body of a lion, a long, spiky tail from which it launched its lethal projectiles. Thorn was a manticore.

"Yield!" Thorn crowed triumphantly.

"Never!" Thalia yelled back. Manticore or not, she was not going to let Thorn harm her friends or the di Angelos. Once more, she raised her spear and charged, determined to end Thorn once and for all.

But Thalia had been so focused on the battle that she'd ignored the sound of blades chopping through the air until it was too late. Now a large military helicopter hovered just beyond the cliff, looking down at all of the them. It shined its search light on Thalia, momentarily blinding her. Thorn took advantage, swatting her in the chest with his tail. It was like being run over by the Minotaur. She crumpled to the ground, losing her spear and shield. She tried to stand, but faster than she could react, Thorn's tail flicked upwards and fired.

Suddenly the projectile was intercepted in mid flight by a bronze sword. Percy stumbled over to her, still favoring his shoulder, and put his battered shield between them and the monster. Thorn smirked, confident of the kill. Then they all heard the clear, resonant call of a hunting horn. Thalia winced. Of all the people to come to their rescue...

A silver arrow lodged itself in Thorn's shoulder. "No, it cannot be," he snarled. He unleashed A fresh volley of projectiles in the direction the arrow had come from. Just as quickly, a cluster of arrows retaliated, slicing the projectiles in half. Only one group of people had that kind of accuracy.

Moments later, Thalia saw them. A group of about a dozen young girls running towards the battle, armed with bows and wearing silver ski parkas, camo jeans, and combat boots.

"The Hunters!" Annabeth cried. She sounded too excited about seeing them again for Thalia's liking.

"Oh wonderful."

One of the older girls stepped forward, and though it had been over five years now, she still looked exactly the same as the last time Thalia had seen her. Tall, coppery skin, coldly regal expression, long black hair braided with a silver circlet. Just what Thalia needed, a reunion with Zoe Nightshade.

"Permission to kill, my lady?" Zoe asked.

"This is not fair!" Thorn wailed. "Direct interference is against the Ancient Laws!"

Another girl stepped forward. Her auburn hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and her silvery-yellow eyes radiated strength and stern determination. She looked slightly younger than Zoe, but Thalia knew not to underestimate her. She recognized the girl from last time too, she was Artemis, goddess of the Hunt.

"That may be so," Artemis stated calmly, "but not in this case. For the hunting of all wild beasts is within my sphere, and you, foul creature, are a wild beast." Then she nodded. "Zoe, permission granted."

"If I cannot have these alive, I shall have them dead!" Thorn snarled defiantly. Then he turned back to Percy and Thalia. Thalia was still weaponless, she cursed herself for not taking advantage of the distraction. And Percy was armed, but whatever Thorn had done to him, it had been steadily weakening him, and now he could barely stand.

"No!" Suddenly Annabeth was leaping on the manticore's back. She plunged her dagger into its mane and held on for dear life. Thorn howled and tried to buck her off. Zoe yelled at Annabeth to get away, but it was too late. Now she raised her bow, and the other girls did the same. _She wouldn't,_ Thalia tried to assure herself. She glared into Zoe's eyes, steely cold, no trace of reservation. _Oh yes she would_.

"Fire!"

"No!" Percy and Thalia screamed at the same time, but the Hunters had already unloaded. Waves of arrows struck Thorn, somehow all missing Annabeth.

"This is not the end, Huntress, you shall pay!" Thorn swore angrily. Then, with Annabeth still clinging to his back, he leapt off the cliff.

"Annabeth!" Percy cried. He tried to run to the cliff, but he was too weak and fell to his knees. Thalia stood still, too stunned to move. Tears stung her eyes, but she wasn't aware of them. This couldn't be happening again.

Unfortunately, there was no time for grief, because the helicopter was still hovering over them, and now someone from inside was firing a machine gun. Bullets riddled the snowy ground, just barely missing everyone. Artemis glared upwards.

"Mortals are not allowed to witness my hunt," she declared, then she extended her hand, and the helicopter dissolved into a sea of ravens. By now the Hunters were just feet away from Thalia, Percy, Grover, and the di Angelos. Zoe gave them a cursory examination, then turned to Artemis.

"Four half-bloods and a satyr, my lady," she reported blandly, as though she were talking about the weather. Thalia found it infuriating. Then Zoe froze for a moment. She inspected Thalia more closely. "Wait," then she saw Percy standing up slowly, and her eyes showed that she seemed to have made the connection. "It is you, I did not think I would see thee alive again."

"Nice to see you too, Zoe," Thalia muttered.

Before things could get any more tense though, Percy ran up to Artemis. "You have to let us save her!"

"You are in no condition to be throwing yourself off cliffs," Artemis replied.

"But you're Artemis right? You're a goddess, you have to help us!" he said frantically, his voice rising with each word.

Zoe glared at Percy. "I see that time has not tamed thy tongue, boy. Perhaps we should send thee over that cliff forcefully."

Percy glanced at her. "Wait, you're-" then he groaned as he clutched his shoulder again.

"This is not the time not the place for an argument. Zoe, the boy is distraught, he meant no disrespect. As for you four half-bloods and your satyr friend, it is late, you shall camp with us tonight. Then tomorrow morning, we shall send you on your way to Camp Half-Blood."

No one disagreed, though Percy still looked like he wanted to go after Annabeth, and camping with the Hunters was the last thing Thalia wanted to do. For the moment, she had no choice. They had ambrosia, which was what Percy needed, and they had no other place to stay or speedy transportation to camp. Thalia sighed. She sighed. If this was the last time she ever saw Zoe Nightshade, it would be too soon.

 **Hey guys. I guess this is the first time I've ever addressed my readers. I just wanted to say thank you so much for taking the time to read, and if you wouldn't mind, please leave a review? I love hearing what you all think, and whether it's positive or negative or just a suggestion for what I should do next, I welcome all comments. Anyways, that's all I wanted to say. Thank you to everyone who has stuck with this from the beginning, I hope it's living up to your expectations. See you in Chapter 6.**

 **Alex**


	6. Chapter 6

_Random fun fact: This was my first fanfiction posted to this site. It's hard to believe this began over a year ago, and honestly I'm amazed that people have continued to read it and leave reviews. Needless to say, it means a lot. So I finished this chapter, which I hadn't worked on for about a year. I'm hoping it turned out all right._

* * *

 **The Hunters: Part One**

The winter winds swirled, as though blown by a Hyperborean giant. Thalia was pretty sure she was a few minutes away from getting hypothermia, and she would have gladly laid down and frozen to death in the snow rather than accept help from Zoe Nightshade...but gods, those tents sure looked warm. And she couldn't just leave Percy like this, he was clearly a wreck after the events that had just occurred. Annabeth was gone. The girl she'd practically raised on the streets with Luke and Percy, one fourth of their perfect little group. Now she was gone, possibly dead, Luke might as well be dead if he was serving Kronos, and Percy...Percy was all she had left. And she sure as Hades wasn't going to leave him at the mercy of the hunters of Artemis and Zoe Nightshade. It was with this rationale that she finally convinced herself it would be all to go sit beside one of those cozy looking fires. There was one with Percy sitting next to the younger di Angelo sibling, Nico, and Grover. Grover was feeding Percy ambrosia whilst Nico was going on and on about his mythomgic cards. Thalia couldn't helo a small grin, she knew Percy had a tendency to get annoyed pretty quickly by someone like Nico. _I'd better go over there before he strangles the poor kid._

But any good feelings of Thalia's were swiftly crushed when she saw the person striding up to them. Of course it had to be Zoe. She was telling Percy that...that Artemis wanted to see him. For what, to turn him into an animal or something? Clearly nothing had changed from all those years ago. She wasn't going to play along this time.

"Beat it, Zoe!" Thalia shouted as she quickly walked over to the fire and placed herself between Zoe and Percy.

The Lieutenant of the Hunt gave Thalia a look that seemed to go back and forth between condescension and indignation.

"This concerns thee not, Thalia Grace. Artemis herself has requested an audience with the boy."

Percy looked back and forth between the imperious huntress and Thalia. They were like defiant statues, each refusing to flinch as the wind and snow swirled around them. Percy always had a sense for when things were about to get ugly, and this situation was on the verge of going nuclear. "Hey, Thalia, it's fine, I'll go-" Percy started to stand, but Thalia put a hand out to stop him.

"No, you're still hurt, you need to get some rest."

Percy looked at her with uncertainty.

"Please...just trust me on this."

Her voice was trembling, as though this were more than just a mere argument, but a matter of life or death. For as long as he had known Thalia, Percy had only once seen her this raw and vulnerable. It was that day all those years ago...the first time they met the hunters...

"Thou wouldst defy a goddess?" Zoe interrupted, a sharp glint in her eyes.

Thalia took a few seconds to recover, determined not to show weakness to the hunters. When she regained her bearings, she responded as calmly as she could.

"Not defy, just a slight change of plan. I'm the oldest of our party, I'm the most experienced. If anyone should go, it's me."

Zoe nodded. "Very well. Follow me."

The moment Thalia laid eyes on Artemis, all the memories came rushing back to her, many she had tried, without success, to bury forever. Artemis looked exactly as she had then: a young girl with auburn hair pulled back in a ponytail. You wouldn't know she was a goddess until you looked into her silver-yellow eyes and saw, not a human soul, but the aura of an immortal. The deceptively youthful looking goddess was sitting in the center of the cozy tent, her eyes carefully probing Thalia. _I wonder if she remembers me..._

"I thought you looked familiar, we have spoken before, haven't we, Thalia?"

 _Of course she remembers_ , Thalia thought with some annoyance. "We have," she answered simply. Her uneasy feelings of deja vu didn't get any better when she saw who was sitting next to Artemis. It was the girl they had found at Westover, Nico's sister, Bianca. It looked like she and Artemis had already been chatting, and Thalia had a pretty good idea of what the subject had been.

Artemis's face was unreadable, and if she caught any signs of Thalia's discomfort, she didn't show it. "You continue to travel about with your friends, the boy, the satyr and...the young maiden," the goddess's voice took on a more sympathetic tone at the last part. Thalia really didn't feel like talking about Annabeth right now, it had just started to set in that she might really be gone. So she decided not to answer.

"She was courageous beyond her years...at any rate, that is not what we are here to speak of. Bianca was just telling me about your encounter with the manticore, and it would appear he had quite a bit to say. Unfortunately, Bianca is still rather new at this, I was hoping you could help."

So Thalia told Artemis about what Thorn had said about the so-called Great Stirring and a monster apparently capable of bringing down Olympus. At hearing this, Artemis grew extremely distressed.

"I should have seen the signs sooner," she muttered to herself. "I must hunt down this creature."

"We shall break camp as soon as possible, my Lady," Zoe said, completely ignoring that fact that Percy was wounded. Typical Zoe, Thalia thought. But Artemis shook her head.

"No, this is something I must do alone. I know where I have to go to find the monster. I will find it and bring it before the council of the gods, perhaps then they will realize the grave danger we are in."

"...As you wish my Lady," Zoe backed off reluctantly.

Artemis then turned back to Thalia. "There is one more favor I would like to ask of you. I would like you to escort the hunters to Camp Half-Blood. They will be safe there until I return."

Thalia caught a flash of disgust on Zoe's face, and for the first time tonight found herself agreeing with the huntress. _The feeling's mutual, believe me. The last thing we need is hunters running around camp trying to win new converts..._

Artemis seemed not to notice either of them, but instead continued to the next item on the agenda as though this were a concluded matter.

"And now there is one more decision to make." She looked at Bianca. "Have you made up your mind, my girl?"

 _"My friends can come too, right?"_

Suddenly Thalia was 10 years old, sitting in this very tent, in the very same spot where Bianca was, the same uncertain look on her face...

"Um...I don't know."

 _"Your friends hold you back from your true potential."_

"You can't," Thalia said, but her voice was spaced out, she could feel herself slipping back into a horrible memory at the worst possible time.

"Of course she can, it is her decision alone," Zoe answered snidely. For the first time tonight, Thalia didn't have a comeback ready. Zoe and Artemis then ran through all the perks of being a hunter, starting of course with immortality.

"We would be your new family, Bianca," Artemis was explaining. "You would be free of responsibilities."

Bianca seemed to be buying it, she had a dreamy, faraway look in her eyes. Thalia knew that look.

A new family...

 _"You could join our family, Thalia."_

No. She snapped out of it. She had one last chance to stop this, to save Bianca, to keep her and her brother together.

"You already have a family, Bianca. Nico, your brother. He'll be heartbroken, you can't just abandon him!"

"Nico will be all right, he can go to Camp Half-Blood and train. You can still see him from time to time," Artemis said reassuringly.

"Bianca, please," Thalia pleaded, but she could feel it, she was losing the fight.

 _"Are you ready to take the oath, my girl?"_

"Is it worth it?" Bianca asked Zoe.

"It is," the lieutenant responded.

"What do I have to do?"

"Say this: I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis."

Bianca repeated it.

"I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the hunt."

Bianca repeated that too. Then Artemis accepted the oath. It was over.

 _No_

The flashback began suddenly, and before Thalia could stop it, she was going back in time, back to the day she'd tried so hard for so long to forget.

 **To be continued...**


	7. Chapter 7

4 years earlier

Somewhere on the Eastern Seaboard

 **The Hunters: Part 2**

Just when it had looked like they were getting the hang of this, they'd fallen straight into the monsters' trap. The night before, the gang, now including Percy, had quickly set up a shelter and settled in for a rare night of sleep. Luke had seemed confident when he assured them that they were well ahead of the horde and could afford to take a break, and Thalia trusted Luke's judgement. He was the oldest of the group, he'd been on the streets the longest, his instincts were usually right. But this time, they'd all been fooled.

The group had decided to set up shop in the small clearing of a heavily wooded area, which turned out to be a mistake, as the monsters were able to hide in the brush and quietly amass their forces. Blissfully unaware, the four young runaways went to sleep that night, and awoke the next morning to their executioners.

Luke peeked his head out of the hideout first, and that's when he got the first indication that something was wrong. It didn't look like much as first, just glint of reflected light somewhere in the treeline several hundred feet ahead. Then he looked closer, and saw that the light was reflecting off a massive ax-like weapon held by a muscular being much taller than any normal human. Soon, other shapes started to materialize, a small army. There was no way to outrun them now.

Thalia was the next to wake up, she rubbed her eyes and saw Luke looking back at her with a look she rarely saw in him: genuine fear.

"What is it?" She asked sleepily.

"I think you'd better take a look at this," Luke replied gloomily.

Thalia groaned as she forced her tired body to rise and move to where Luke was standing. He shifted aside to allow her a better view. What she saw knocked all the tiredness out of her instantly as she realized their lives could be about to end.

"Oh no..."

Thalia looked back at Percy and Annabeth, still sleeping peacefully. Their lives were worth something, if to no one else, then to each other. This couldn't be how it ended, not here, not now.

Luke was formulating a plan, Thalia knew that much because his facial features would seem to become long and distant, as if he were retreating into his mind and running through a thousand potential scenarios. Thalia couldn't imagine many such scenarios where they survived this.

"Take Annabeth and Percy, run in the opposite direction and don't look back."

"What?" Thalia wasn't sure she was hearing him right.

Luke went on, as if what he was suggesting was perfectly normal. "I'm going to create a distraction, you guys get away, then I'll run after you."

"Are you insane?" Thalia whispered, not wanting to wake up Percy and Annabeth yet. "You'll die!"

"I've survived worse," Luke said grimly. "Run when I tell you." Before Thalia could object, he picked up his sword and crawled out of the hideout.

Thalia raced over to Percy and shook him awake, then did the same to Annabeth. If Luke was serious about following through on his daring (and stupid, in Thalia's opinion) plan, then they had only seconds to get away. There would be no time to gather what scant supplies they had, they would just have to scavenge about in the next town they passed through...if they lived that long, anyways. Then there was Luke...how was he going to get away? They would have to find some way of getting him out of there...

"Thalia?"

The sound of Percy's voice jolted Thalia out of her own thoughts. She tried her best to keep the panic from rising in her voice. They'd been in precarious situations before, but Percy was still relatively new to all this.

"I'm sorry Percy, I was just um- look, we have to go, now."

"Why, what's going on?" Then his eyes widened, he must have figured it out by now. "How many?"

"Too many," Thalia answered. "Luke is going to distract them while we get away."

Percy gave her a look of disbelief. "But then how will he escape? We've gotta help him!"

"Percy wait-" but again, Thalia was unable to prevent Percy from grabbing his weapon and sprinting out of the hideout into the open.

Her heart hammering in her chest, Thalia took Annabeth's hand and together they ran outside as well.

"Percy, stop!"

Unfortunately, this not only alerted Percy, who was already about halfway to Luke, but it also announced their presence to the monsters. Their plan was ruined, and there was no way the four of them were going to be able ro fight off that many monsters with the weapons they had. Luke, who was the nearest to the forest, wore a mortified look on his face as he realized Percy had followed him.

"Percy, go back! Run!

But Percy kept going, and then the monsters burst out of the forest to meet them. Thalia felt her body shake as she gripped Annabeth's hand. She knew they had a decision to make. Die alongside their friends, or run and have a slightly greater chance of survival. Thalia already knew what her choice was, she wouldn't be alive right now if it wasn't for Luke, and Percy...well Percy was special to her in a way she just couldn't figure out. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if she saved herself while they died. But then there was Annabeth...Thalia couldn't ask her to risk her life like this, she was an incredibly smart and talented fighter, but she was young and had her whole life ahead of her. Thalia kneeled down so she was looking the younger girl in her youthful, confused stormy grey eyes. How much of this did she really understand? That they might all die today?

"Okay Annabeth, here's what I want you to do. You see those trees over there?" Thalia pointed to the woods on the other side of the hideout. Annabeth nodded.

"I want you to run in that direction until you reach the town we passed yesterday. If anyone asks, tell them you're lost, they'll find a home for you."

"But...what about you? Where are you going?" Annabeth asked in a quiet voice that just about broke Thalia's heart.

"I'm going to help Percy and Luke. Now go on, run." Thalia pushed Annabeth towards the wood and before she could change her mind, before she could allow it to register that she might never see Annabeth alive again, she began running back towards Percy and Luke.

The boys had one advantage over the monsters: they knew how to coordinate their moves. While the horde of beasts stumbled over each other to get to their prey, Percy and Luke were able to play off each other and fend them off while steadily retreating back towards the hideout. When Percy had first joined the group, he was a mostly improvisational fighter, but with Luke's help, he was reaching his potential, and that was what had kept them alive to this point. The fact of the matter though, was that it was still just two of them against at least 20 enemies. They couldn't hold on forever, and the monsters knew it.

While Percy fought for his life, he found his mind on something, or rather, someone, else entirely. Thalia. Sure, he loved all of his new friends: Luke and Annabeth were like the siblings he never had, but Thalia was different. He'd never been a very open person, she made him want to share parts of his life that he had always kept to himself. On the rare times they weren't in this exact situation of fighting for survival, he enjoyed Thalia's company the most. Did that mean he liked Thalia? Percy wasn't sure. His only point of reference was whenever his mom spoke of his father. She would get a faraway look in her eyes and talk about how they would take walks on the beach and do all kinds of things together, just the two of them. She had loved him, his mom would say, and here he could always audibly detect the sadness in her voice. Percy didn't understand love, not yet, let alone his feelings for Thalia, whatever they were. Percy brought his sword up at the last second to parry, now it was looking like he might not get a chance to figure that out.

Thalia was over 50 yards away from Percy and Luke, and they were on the verge of being overwhelmed. She wanted to scream, anything to stop the feeling of utter helplessness rising up within her. Thalia knew in her gut she wouldn't make it in time. They needed a miracle, and lo and behold, they got one.

It started with a light _w_ _hoosh_ , almost imperceptible over the sounds of battle. Then about half the monsters staggered over and disappeared in a shower of golden dust. At first, it seemed to Thalia that the monsters had spontaneously combusted om their own, then she heard footsteps, followed by the sight of about half a dozen teenage girls armed with bows and dressed in camo t-shirts and combat boots dashing out of the woods into the grassy field. The monsters quickly forgot about Percy and Luke, turning in a disjointed and hurried manner to confront their new foe.

The leader of the archers, a tall, graceful girl with copper skin and a silver circlet braided into her silky black hair, nocked another arrow on the run and commanded her fellow archers to fire another volley. Within the blink of an eye, the rest of the monsters were history. The archers stopped their sprint right in front of Percy, Luke, and Thalia, who had finally caught up with them.

The tall girl scanned the area and turned to another girl who looked to be about Luke's age. She had auburn hair pulled back in a ponytail and cold yellow eyes. "The perimeter is clear, my lady," the tall girl said dutifully. Thalia tried to hide her surprise at the fact that the older girl, whom Thalia had assumed was the leader, was deferring to this younger one.

The auburn haired girl nodded. "Well done, Zoe." Then she finally acknowledged the presence of the three kids in front of her. "Three unclaimed...that is highly unusual," she murmured more to herself. Thalia wanted to ask what the girl meant by "unclaimed", but the tall girl, Zoe, interjected.

"What are we to do with them, my lady? Surely we cannot allow these...boys, to remain here."

Thalia still didn't understand what was going on, and the auburn haired girl must have sensed that, for she looked directly at Thalia this time, and that was when she started to get a feeling that this girl was different. Her eyes contradicted her youthful appearance, they held ancient wisdom and a power far greater than met the eye.

"We have not properly met, my girl. I am Artemis, goddess of the hunt."

The way she said it was as casually as if she was saying her name was Mary Sue. It took a moment for the words to register in Thaliad's mind.

"Did you um, did you say _goddess_?"

It wasn't the fact that deities existed that shocked Thalia. After the things she'd seen, it wasn't that difficult to accept. She'd just never expected the first one she encountered to look like- well, this.

"Appearances can be deceiving," the girl, Artemis, said. "You will learn that in time." She gestured to the tall girl. Now that she was closer, Thalia could see that she had dark brown eyes and an upturned nose. It gave her the appearance of royalty. "This is my faithful lieutenant."

"Zoe Nightshade," the girl answered for herself. She had an odd, old fashioned sounding accent, like the actors from old movies. It only made her sound more imperious.

"I'm Thalia," she finally answered. "And these are my friends, Percy and Luke."

Zoe nodded, she seemed to be in thought for a moment. Then, like a trained warrior, she seamlessly shifted her gaze to somewhere behind Thalia, ready to attack at a moment's notice if need be. "And what of the fourth?"

Thalia was confused at first, then she looked behind her and was stunned to see Annabeth running towards them.

"The hunters of Artemis!" Annabeth cried, a little too happily for Thalia's liking. They didn't even know these people. For all they knew, the hunters could be just another enemy in the guise of a friend. Annabeth ran up to Artemis and Zoe.

"I'm Annabeth!" she said excitedly.

Artemis allowed herself a small smile. "Indeed, young one. You are fortunate to be alive, as are your friends."

"If we had not arrived when we did, the beasts would have feasted on thee." Zoe explained matter of factly. "Tis best not to rely on men for protection, they will only let thee down in the end."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Percy protested, but Luke put an arm across his chest, and he quieted down after receiving a death glare from Zoe.

Artemis ignored them and stepped towards Thalia. "You are the eldest maiden in this group, are you not?"

Again, Thalia was taken aback by the formal sounding language. Who even used the word "maiden" anymore? Nevertheless, she nodded to confirm that what Artemis had said was true.

"Hunters, make camp!" Zoe ordered, and the others quickly got to work setting up tents.

"My hunters are going to set up camp here for the day," Artemis said. "You and, Annabeth, was it? You and Annabeth are more than welcome to join us."

"What about Luke and Percy?" Thalia asked.

"Boys are not allowed to join the company of the hunters," Zoe replied stiffly. "They will have to go somewhere else."

"That doesn't seem fair," Thalia complained. But the hunters' camp did look inviting, especially if they had food and water. "But...I guess it wouldn't hurt to go for a little while."

Artemis nodded. "Your male friends can stay in your old shelter. We will have guards posted outside the camp, they will stop any monsters who mean to do harm to them. That is the best we can do."

It still seemed pretty unfair to Thalia, but temtpation had gotten the best of her. She looked back at Percy and Luke. At least they were still alive, and maybe Artemis would let them take some supplies to aid them on their journey. And after all, she would see Percy again after her visit with the hunters, that alone was enough to lift her spirits. Having thus justified temporarily leaving her friends behind, Thalia still looked to them, hoping they would understand.

"We'll be okay, you two enjoy yourselves." Percy said graciously. Luke nodded his agreement.

"Thank you, guys," Thalia said, hugging Luke first, then Percy, which lasted a few moments longer than it should have. She really did like him now, and she realized there was no point trying to deny that anymore. So she wouldn't. She might even tell him after they came back.

Thalia felt embarrassed at not knowing who the hunters of Artemis were. She leaned in close to Annabeth so Artemis and Zoe wouldn't hear her and think her ignorant.

"You've gotta help me out here, who are the hunters of Artemis?"

"They're the coolest!" Annabeth whispered back. "They go everywhere with Artemis, hunting monsters and living together, like a family! No boys allowed, but all girls are allowed to join."

"Provided, of course, that they take the oath to Artemis," Zoe said suddenly. "But we shall discuss that at a later time."

Thalia blushed, she wondered just how much Zoe had overheard of their conversation. Artemis looked back at the two younger girls.

"As we are immortal, we have no need for food and water," Artemis said, as if reading Thalia's eariler thoughts. "Even so, we have our own methods of nourishment, and we are more than happy to share with any lost maidens we may encounter."

"Like us?" Annabeth asked

Artemis smiled and nodded.

The hunters had set up the camp within a matter of moments. It wasn't much, just a small circle of tents, but they all looked far cozier than any of the hideouts Thalia had slept in. Soon after entering the camp ground, Artemis left Thalia and Annabeth with Zoe, saying she had other business to attend to. Zoe led them to a tent that was slightly wider than the others.

"This is where we keep the moon water, it is also a place for the hunters to socialize. We are fierce warriors, but also very communal. They will be welcoming to thee."

"Um, moon water?" Thalia asked confusedly.

Zoe nodded. "The drink of the hunters. It is a magical elixir that gives us energy and power. Only worthy maidens may drink of it."

"Are we worthy?" Annabeth asked.

Zoe gave the faintest of smiles as they reached the tent. "We shall find out soon enough."

There were five other hunters in the tent, they had been standing around chatting, but stopped as soon as Zoe walked in.

"Sisters, we have guests." She looked at Thalia and Annabeth expectantly

"I'm Thalia Grace."

"And I'm Annabeth."

A big, muscular girl examined them closely, as if wondering how each of them would hold up in an arm wrestling contest. Then she broke into a toothy grin. "Pleasure to meet you, I'm Phoebe."

The others introduced themselves in short order: Naomi, Celyn, Tessa, Andrea. As Zoe had assured them, the hunters were welcoming and congenial. Annabeth loved them right away, and even Thalia, who had been skeptical, had to admit that this looked like a pretty neat setup. It was obvious that the hunters had a close bond to one another. She found herself wondering what kinds of adventures they had gone on with Artemis. Before she could ask, Zoe returned with a thermos and handed it to her.

"Drink this," she said simply.

Thalia looked at it uncertainly.

"It will make you feel better, I give thee my word," Zoe promised.

In their time on the streets, Thalia had quickly learned that the number of people she could trust could be counted on one hand. She had only just met Zoe Nightshade a few minutes ago, could she really trust the huntress? She looked at Zoe again. Her eyes were like those of Artemis: ancient. But there was something else, understanding, as if she had been in this very position once before herself.

 _What the hec_ k, Thalia thought. _I guess they would have killed us already if they wanted to_. And so she raised the thermos to her lips and slowly tilted it upwards. It just tasted like regular water at first, but within seconds, Thalia felt warmth spreading through her body. She felt more relaxed and rested than she had in weeks, and her hunger was gone.

"What did it taste like? Can I have some?" Annabeth tugged at Thalia's sleeve, and Thalia gave her the thermos. She only needed to read Annabeth's body language to tell that the drink had had the same effect again.

"Wow...that was amazing."

Zoe nodded, then looked to Thalia. "How do you feel?"

"I- I feel great, thank you," and she meant it. She was starting to see that there was a softer side to Zoe, perhaps she had misjudged the huntress after all.

Zoe was impressed when Thalia told her that she had used a bow before. "Archery is a dying art in the modern world. In my day, it was considered a mark of great prestige to master the bow and arrow."

"Your day?" Zoe only looked a few years older than Thalia. "How old are you?"

"A little over two thousand years," Zoe answered casually. Thalia's jaw just about dropped, and even Annabeth was left speechless.

Zoe had offered to give Thalia and Annabeth some tips on archery. Annabeth, who was completely taken with the band of hunters, enthusiastically agreed, and to her own surprise, so did Thalia. She realized there was something quite alluring about this small club of girls who traveled around the globe with a goddess. It was almost enough to make her want to join. There was just one problem: she would have to convince Artemis to let Percy and Luke come with them. There was no good reason to leave them behind. Artemis and Zoe seemed reasonable enough, Thalia was sure she could make them see it her way.

Over the next few hours, Thalia slowly forgot about her friends only a fee hundred yards away. Zoe was an incredible archer, better than anyone Thalia had ever seen. With her help, Thalia could feel her own skills improving. Even Annabeth, who had never used a bow before, was able to hit a target by nightfall. Zoe didn't talk much, the fact that she was apparently over two thousand years old just made Thalia more curious, but Zoe brushed aside her and Annabeth's questions, merely saying that all would be explained that night.

The campfire had been set up as quickly as the camp itself. Earlier when they'd passed through, the center of the circle had been vacant, but now there were three logs surrounding a pile of steadily burning kindling. The other hunters, except Artemis, were sitting on the logs and talking amongst themselves. It was a simple luxury, Thalia thought, but one that she and her friends had rarely been afforded. She was inwardly relieved when Zoe told her she and Annabeth could join them by the fire.

For the first few minutes, it was nice. The other hunters were very interested in the fact that Zoe had personally given Thalia and Annabeth an archery lesson.

"You don't know how lucky you are," Phoebe chuckled. "Before Zoe joined, we took lessons from Orion...and we all know how _that_ worked out."

The others laughed, Thalia didn't get it.

The hunters then proceeded to tell stories about various subjects: their first day as a hunter, their first time felling a monster, their experiences tracking several famous beasts of Greek mythology, and so on and so on. Thalia found herself getting engrossed in these stories, so she practically fell over backwards when Zoe, who had apparently gotten up and left the group at some point, touched her shoulder from behind.

"I am sorry to interupt thy fellowship, but the lady Artemis would like a word with thee."

Thalia took Annabeth's hand so they could go together, but Zoe stopped her with her next words. "Nay, not she, Artemis wishes to speak with thee alone, Thalia Grace."

"Um, okay," Thalia said nervously. It had been years since she'd gone into a situation like this completely alone. She'd always had someone by her side, Luke, Percy, Annabeth. Thalia stood and thanked the other hunters for their kindness in welcoming them. Then, after quietly assuring Annabeth that she would be fine, followed Zoe towards the middle tent in the circle.

The tent was the kind you would expect of the goddess of the hunt. Animal pelts decorated the walls, and a shining silver bow lay on a small table, along with a quiver of silver arrows. Artemis herself sat cross-legged in the center of the tent on a comfortable looking rug. With a silent gesture, she invited Thalia to sit, which she did.

"You have enjoyed our hospitality thus far, I hope?" Artemis asked.

Thalia thought about it for a moment. She hadn't been sure what to make of the hunters at first, and she still had many questions left unanswered, but overall, she couldn't deny that she had truly begun to enjoy the company of the hunters.

"I have."

"Good. I would like to tell you a little more about my hunters, Thalia. You have no doubt wondered how Zoe would be thousands of years old yet appear like a teenage girl?"

Thalia nodded.

"This is because the maidens who join my hunt are granted the gifts of eternal youth and immortality, on certain conditions of course, that I will get into in just a moment. The hunters, as you have also observed, are a tightly knit group. They train together, travel together, are always there for each other. They are a sisterhood unlike any other, a family in all but blood."

"A family?" Thalia asked faintly. She had hardly known her own birth family. As far as she was concerned, Luke, Percy and Annabeth were her family.

"Yes. That is why I created the hunters, as a personal request from my father, Zeus, to give young girls like yourself and Zoe a sense of belonging and community in a world that far too often mistreats, ignores and abuses them."

Thalia could certainly understand that. She'd been all but abandoned by the world and her own parents. If it wasn't for her friends, Thalia would have died alone and forgotten by now. The idea of joining the hunters was starting to sound more enticing.

"How does someone join?"

Artemis clasped her hands. "I'm glad you asked, child. It is quite simple actually, all one must do is recite the oath, and upon my acceptance, they will become a full member of the hunt."

"What's the oath?" Thalia asked.

This time Zoe, who had been standing idly aside, answered. "It goes like this: 'I pledge myself to the Goddess Artemis. I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the hunt.'"

"Wait a second," Thalia said, for the first time sensing something was wrong. "What do you mean 'turn my back on the company of men?'"

Artemis looked at Thalia knowingly, this was conversation she'd had many times before. "I said before that the immortality of the hunters was conditional. There are two conditions: first, a hunter can be killed in battle; and second, she must keep the oath, and that means rejecting the companionship of men, romantic or otherwise, forever."

Thalia wasn't sure what to think. "I- I don't understand."

"Men fancy themselves heroes, Thalia," Zoe stepped in again. "Then they turn their backs on us, they betray us, caring only for themselves. It happened to me, it has happened to countless other young women. Therefore, we have nothing to do with men."

Thalia looked back at Artemis, who simply nodded her agreement. "Zoe is right. Men have, unfortunately, perpetrated far too many evils to be trusted, and even those who begin with good intentions ultimately subcomb to ego and ambition. That is why they are not allowed to join the hunt, and why my hunters are forbidden to fall in love with them."

"Why are you telling me all this?" Thalia asked. The pit in her stomach was growing deeper and deeper by the moment.

"Thou wouldst make an excellent hunter, Thalia," Zoe said.

Thalia looked up at the lieutenant of the hunt. The look on her face told her she was being completely serious.

'Me? A hunter?"

"Yes. I have seen many over my lifetime, but thy spirit, heart, and fortitude...tis all the makings of a huntress."

"Again, I must concur with Zoe," Artemis said. "I identified all of these traits in you from the moment we met. You could join us."

They were offering her a place in the hunt! Part of Thalia wanted to say yes, but...

"My friends can come too, right?" She couldn't imagine going anywhere without them. Surely Artemis couldn't expect her to just leave them behind, could she?

"Your friends?" Artemis questioned.

"Percy, Luke, and Annabeth. They can come too?"

Artemis shook her head. "Your female comapanion is regrettably too young to properly take the oath as of yet, but she may accompany us until such a time. Your other friends however...I am sorry, but they cannot come. The temptation for both they and my hunters would become too great, and...well, we would not want to see the results of that."

"But-" _they're my family_ , Thalia wanted to say, but the words wouldn't come. She felt completely torn.

"Your friends hold you back from your true potential," Artemis said bluntly.

"What?"

"We can help you become who you were meant to be," Zoe was saying. "We could be your family, Thalia."

Thalia couldn't reply. She was just now starting to understand the implications of joining the hunters of Artemis. All of those girls out there had made a choice, a choice to give up contact with boys, to give up love, in exchange for a real life fantasy. Immortality, eternal youth, no responsibilities, a family. All she had to do was give up Luke, who had been like a brother to her and had saved her life more times than she could count. All she had to do was give up Percy, all the unrealized possibilities, all her feelings...forever.

"It is time for your decision. Are you ready to take the oath, my girl?" Artemis asked gently, but firmly.

Thalia looked back and forth from Artemis to Zoe. She tried to imagine the three of them, a thousand years later, all looking exactly the same. She imagined going on treks in the woods with the other girls, hunting the monsters who had for so long hunted her. She imagined not having to fight every day for basic sustenance, but simply taking a sip of that amazing moon water and feeling completely recharged. She imagined having a home, or as close to one as she had ever had, a comfy tent to sleep in every night rather than the ramshackle hideouts. It all sounded wonderful...but it wasn't for her.

"I...I can't."

The silence was truly deafening. And it seemed to go on forever, although it was only a matter of seconds. Finally, Artemis spoke.

"You can't?"

"I can't," Thalia repeated, this time with more conviction. "Everything you've told me...it's amazing. But my friends need me, and I need them. I can't leave them behind."

"You can't, or you won't?" Zoe interrupted accusingly.

For the first time, Thalia found herself getting angry. Who was Zoe to talk to her that way? She shot to her feet. "What are you talking about?"

"Tis but one reason for a maiden in your position to turn down an offer to join the hunt: thy foolish attatchment to a boy. I say this for thy own good, he will hurt thee in the end."

"Don't talk about Percy that way!" Thalia shouted.

Suddenly Artemis was standing between them, focusing her glare on Zoe first. "That is enough, both of you. What's done is done, the decision has been made." Then she turned to Thalia. "You must forgive Zoe, she is nothing if not passionate. In any event, since you will not be joining us, you and Annabeth may camp with us tonight. Tomorrow, we shall return you to your friends and be on our way."

"Thank you for understanding," Thalia said quietly, ignoring the furious look Zoe was sending her as she began to leave the tent. Despite Artemis's words, she doubted she would forgive Zoe anytime soon for insulting Percy. If she was lucky, she'd never see the huntress again. Then again, luck had rarely ever been her ally.

 _The next morning_

The hunters had broken camp at the break of dawn, Thalia and Annabeth were the only remaining witnesses that they had ever been there. For several minutes, they walked in silence back to the hideout. Thalia hadn't slept a wink last night. All she could do was replay those dreadful few minutes in the tent, sitting feet away from a goddess who had offered her a golden ticket to a life most could only dream of. And she'd turned it down. Why? Over and over, she tussled with this question, and each time, her thoughts would wander to Percy. He would kill her if he ever found out that she gave up a chance to join the hunters just because of him, but that was exactly what she had done. For the first time since she'd met him, Thalia was dreading the reunion.

Luke was standing watch outside the hideout, apparently they hadn't exactly trusted the hunters to keep them safe, and Thalia couldn't blame them. He began walking towards them as they got closer, soom followed by Percy dashing out from inside the hideout.

"What happened?" Luke asked.

Thalia shook her head, she was too ashamed of the fact she had even for a moment considered abandoning them, she couldn't tell them the truth, not yet. "Um...nothing really. They gave us a place to sleep for the night, and that's basically it."

"Are you sure?" Luke gave her a skeptical look, but Thalia was saved from answering when Percy ran up to them.

"Thalia and Annabeth, it's great to see you guys again! I couldn't sleep at all last night. For a moment there, I was worried you might not come back."

"You never have to worry about that," Thalia answered, and she felt much better now, knowing she had made the right choice. "We're family, and families stick together. I would never, ever leave you."

The next day, the four of them moved on from the hideout to the next town. Luke, Percy and Annabeth would never know the truth, Thalia thought, and just as well. The encounter with the hunters would haunt her for days afterwards, and her dreams would echo the words of Zoe Nightshade: _He will hurt thee in the end._

No, she imagined herself answering smoothly, but confidently. You're wrong, Zoe Nightshade. Not Percy, not ever.

 **To be continued...**


End file.
